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Cavegirls season on the line in No. 2 ranked Hobbs

Sophomore Zuriah Leyva and the rest of the young Cavegirls will need to step up against New Mexico s second ranked Hobbs Lady Eagles. (Ben Gibson/Current-Argus)

CARLSBAD  The Carlsbad Cavegirls (11-14) will have all their chips on the table when they face Hobbs ( tonight in Tasker Arena, but you won't hear any complaints from the girls as they face a win-or-go-home situation.

"It's the end of the season, it is all a matter of what you have in your heart," Carlsbad's Breonna Clem-mer said.

Though the Cavegirls are going up against the state's second ranked team, a team that has already beaten them twice this season, the confidence created by their unexpected comeback against Las Cruces has given Carlsbad renewed hope.

"We dug deep and were willing to fight for one another," Zuriah Leyva said. "It showed we can play with anybody. If we set our minds to it and play with heart, we can beat them."

But Carlsbad will need more than confidence to handle a Lady Eagle offense that averages 47.8 points a game. Hobbs has three scorers who average double-digit scoring: Danielle Paterson with 16.3, Hallie Woods 11.7, and MacKenzie Latimer at exactly 10 a game. Hobbs offense took over in the first game as Cavegirls lost 51-19 in Hobbs before playing a closer game in Carlsbad. Ultimately, however, the Cavegirls fell 39-30 in a defensive battle.

While those sorts of numbers can be daunting, Carlsbad coach John Zumbrun said his team is capable of defeating the Lady Eagles.

"We're going to have to be aggressive and take the fight to them. If we rebound and take care of the ball we can control the pace and take chances away from them," Zumbrun said.

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Zumbrun said he hasn't made any changes to practice or done anything special to try to get the Cavegirls motivated.

"If you need something to motivate you at this point, you've missed the boat," Zumbrun said.

Zumbrun reiterated the fact his team needs to control the pace as well as win the rebounding battle against Hobbs if they want to come out victorious.

"That's how I know when a team is trying. They aren't going to lose the rebounding battle if they are," Zumbrun said.

The Cavegirl coach also noted that their victory against Las Cruces will serve as a point of inspiration as well.

"That was big. It showed we can scare up 36 points in a half, and that we can play with anybody," Zum-brun said, "We just have to take the fight to them."

The odds may not be in the Cavegirls favor, but all that matters Thursday night is what happens on the court.